2. Methodology
2.1. Determining the Research Process and Sampling
This study was conducted in two phases in order to examine the role of manpower agencies in
preventing occupational accidents. Firstly, the manpower agencies of two selected businesses were
contacted for interviews with their contract factory interpreters, so as to gain insight into how those
interpreters contribute to the OSH education/training for blue-collar foreign workers. One of the
businesses hired 50 blue-collar foreign workers and the other 300; the contract factory interpreters for
both businesses had worked in their positions for more than five years. After selecting the businesses,
focused interviews of manpower agencies occurred in three regions across Taiwan (Taipei, Taichung,
and Kaohsiung). All the manpower agencies interviewed are primarily importers of factory workers
and listed by the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training (BEVT) as well-performers in a
nationwide evaluation. Interview questions in the passage below were asked to better understand the
manpower agencies’ active role in preventing occupational accidents throughout a blue-collar foreign
worker’s employment in Taiwan, from the moment of the work application to the worker’s departure
from Taiwan after the contract expired.
The following in-depth interview questions were posed to contract factory interpreters:
(1) What is your greatest challenge concerning the OSH education/training programs for blue-collar
foreign workers?
(2) What do you think is the best approach to OSH education/training for blue-collar
foreign workers?
(3) Can you think of any other way to make blue-collar foreign workers more aware of OSH?
Major questions for focused interviews were the following:
(1) What kind of assistance is available for an employer to enhance OSH education/training for
blue-collar foreign workers?
(2) What kind of assistance is available for an employer to raise its blue-collar foreign workers’
alertness against occupational injuries?
(3) From your experiences, what are the flaws in, or hindrances to, employers’ efforts to implement
blue-collar foreign workers’ OSH education/training programs? What kind of assistance is
available to remedy those flaws or hindrances?